BROCKTON – Jean Anderson, a former waitress at Christo’s Restaurant, woke up on Sunday with a leisurely plan: go kayaking, enjoy a picnic with her family and Skype with her daughter, who lives in North Carolina.

For the first time in 39 years, Anderson did not have to work on Mother’s Day, because Christo’s had closed.

“I knew we were making other people happy for the day,” she said. “But now that I have a taste for it, I never want to work Mother’s Day again.”

That freedom from working one of the busiest restaurant days of the year was described Monday as “bittersweet” by several former Christo’s employees, who had Mother’s Day off for the first time in years – or decades.

But they still wanted to see each other.

So, a couple dozen workers from the landmark Brockton restaurant gathered in the Christo’s parking lot for lunch Monday, to reminisce about regular customers, longtime owners Chris and Bessie Tsaganis, the busy days just before Christo’s closed in December, and, of course, working double shifts on holidays.

Vera Jackson went to lunch Sunday with one daughter and to dinner with another. It had been 10 years since she had the day to herself.

“It was lovely to have the day off and be with your family,” she said. “I over-tipped both waitresses.”

The brown-bag lunch was organized by Jackson of Holbrook and Joannie Wakefield of Taunton, both former Christo’s waitresses.

The idea started in the weeks before Christo’s closed and came to fruition Monday as the sale of the restaurant to the state is being finalized.

The deal should close next week with Massasoit Community College taking over the property. The college plans to eventually convert the building into a science center.

“We just figured we’d meet up somewhere because we’re all poor now,” Jackson said. “It sounds corny, but it really is a family. It’s like a sorority – the waitresses.”

Some former Christo’s employees remain unemployed, or semi-retired. Others have found work at area restaurants, or, in the case of Mary Robinson, as a nurse.

Robinson, of Brockton, worked for Christo’s as a bartender for a 18 months while studying to be a nurse. She passed her boards last week.

“I felt I worked with a bunch of mothers,” Robinson said. “It was very supportive. There’s no place like this. It’s a family.”

Christo’s co-owner Gigi Johnson said she hopes the First Annual Christo’s Employee Brown Bag Lunch will become a regular event, though next year they will have to find a new location.

Page 2 of 2 - Johnson, her sister Maria Samson and remaining staff members have been clearing out kitchen equipment and furniture for the past few months in anticipation of the sale.

“It’ll be sad all over again when they knock it down,” Johnson said.

Johnson also enjoyed a rare relaxing Mother’s Day on Sunday. She hung out with her kids and made waffles at home.